Geological Society of Glasgow

What did the Ice Age ever do for us? (lecture)
2018-11-21 18:30 - 20:00 (Europe/London) | Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS, United Kingdom
Scotland’s scenery has been shaped by moving ice and meltwater over hundreds of thousands of years, but the Ice Age has also affected the sea bed around Scotland and it influences today’s society in surprising ways.
This public lecture, organised by the Edinburgh Geological Society and Dynamic Earth, gives the opportunity to hear first-hand about recent advances in our understanding of the Ice Age in Scotland.
Further details, including booking information, can be found here.

Unravelling soft sediment deformation in earthquake-triggered mass transport deposits (lecture)
2018-11-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Professor Ian Alsop, University of Aberdeen
Text books frequently suggest that sedimentary slump folds are “characteristically chaotic” and display “little symmetry” (Van der Pluijm & Marshak 2004) or that “folds do not propagate …. in any systematic predictable manner” (Davis & Reynolds 1996). However, is this really the case? Using examples from the Late Pleistocene (70-15 ka) Lisan Fm. exposed around the present Dead Sea, a number of fundamental questions regarding mass transport deposits (MTDs) will be addressed in this talk, including:
(i) What controls transport directions of basin-scale mass transport patterns?
(ii) What is the structural sequence of deformation during formation of MTDs?
(iii) Why do some fold hinges rotate and others roll during slumping?
(iv) Is it possible to recognise multiple events and reworking within MTDs?
(v) Why do some fold hinges verge back up slope?
(vi) Are existing models of MTDs adequate to explain the observations?

Earthquake induced slump folds in the Late Pleistocene (70-15 ka) Lisan Fm. exposed around the present Dead Sea. (Image: I. Alsop)
Background reading: Alsop, G.I. (2013) Seismogenic slump folds formed by gravity driven tectonics down a negligible subaqueous slope. Tectonophysics, 605, p.48-69.
Ian is currently Chair in Structural Geology and Head of Geology and Petroleum Geology at the University of Aberdeen. Before joining the University in 2009 he was based at the University of St. Andrews, and had previously held research positions at the universities of London, Durham and ETH, Zurich. He currently sits on a number of editorial boards including the Journal of the Geological Society, the Journal of Structural Geology, the Scottish Journal of Geology and Geology Today.

Ian is internationally recognised for his work on tectonics and structural geology, and in particular the 3-D analysis of complex geometries. His research addresses the ability of rocks and sediments to flow and fracture at a variety of scales and rates, both within the Earth and close to its surface.

EGS workshop: the North West Highlands Geopark
2018-10-27 11:00 - 15:00 | Southside Community Centre, 117 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9ER, United Kingdom
The North West Highlands UNESCO Global Geopark spans 2000 sq km of mountain, peatland, beach, forest and coastline north of Ullapool, including some of the most well-known and important rocks in the UK.
This half-day workshop, which is being organised by Edinburgh Geological Society, will focus on the work of the geopark, explore the historical development of ideas about thrusting and mountain building and give an overview of the modern understanding of the Moine Thrust Belt. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in geology to find out more about the geopark, the UNESCO Global Geoparks network, and the geological story of one of Scotland’s most iconic regions.
The event will include short presentations from Laura Hamlet and Pete Harrison from the North West Highlands Geopark and scientific overview from Rob Butler and Clare Bond from the University of Aberdeen. There will be stalls from other organisations, lots of resources to browse and plenty of opportunity for informal discussion.
More information can be found here.
£15 (£10 students) including lunch. Booking is essential; reserve your ticket at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3620756

Is mountain building a sink or source of atmospheric CO2? A case study of metamorphic fluid flow from the SW Scottish Highlands (lecture)
2018-10-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Professor Alasdair Skelton, University of Stockholm
In global carbon cycle models, mountain building is often viewed as a sink for atmospheric CO2, acting on tectonic timescales. However, recent attempts to quantify fluxes for CO2 produced by metamorphic reactions and released to the atmosphere suggest that these are an order-of-magnitude greater than CO2 uptake by chemical weathering of silicate minerals, and that metamorphic CO2 is released on millennial timescales. These hypotheses have gained support from both measurements of CO2 emissions from present-day mountain hot springs in the Himalaya and studies of metamorphic rocks from the SW Scottish Highlands. This talk will focus on findings from three decades of work in the SW Scottish Highlands.

Further reading: Skelton, 2013: Is orogenesis a net sink or source of atmospheric CO2? Geology Today 29 (3), 102-107.

Alasdair graduated from Cambridge University in 1989. He completed his PhD in 1993 at Edinburgh University. The title of his thesis was “Petrological, geochemical and field studies of fluid infiltration during regional metamorphism of the Dalradian of the SW Scottish Highlands”. He was a NERC postdoctoral fellow at Edinburgh University from 1993 to 1997, Ocean Drilling Program shipboard and post-cruise scientist in 1998, and a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Uppsala University from 1999 to 2000. He worked as a science communicator at the Museum of Evolution in 2001. He was appointed as Professor of Geochemistry and Petrology at the Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University in 2001. He served as Head of Department from 2004 to 2012. He has led the SGU financed project Metamorphic Map of Sweden since 2011. He has been Director of the Research School for Teachers focusing on Natural Hazards since 2012 and Director of the Bolin Centre for Climate Research since 2013. His main research interests are metamorphic petrology focusing on carbon fluxes during mountain building and natural hazards focusing on groundwater chemistry as a proxy for fracturing before and after earthquakes.

The geology of Aberdeenshire – mountains, glens and coast
2018-09-14 12:00 - 2018-09-17 12:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Con Gillen
Field days: Friday(afternoon)/Saturday/Sunday/Monday(morning)
Overview
Devonian lavas and sedimentary rocks; Highland Border Complex (with superb pillow lavas); Highland Boundary Fault; ORS/Dalradian unconformity; Dalradian structure and metamorphism; Caledonian and post-Caledonian granites, gabbros, migmatites, dykes and breccia pipes.
Itineraries
Friday 14: half-day – Crawton (4 miles south of Stonehaven, on the A92, lunchtime); ORS (lavas and sediments); (Glasgow-Crawton 130 miles, 2.5 hours)
Saturday 15: full-day – Dunnottar Castle to Stonehaven – ORS/HBC/HBF/Dal
Sunday 16: full-day – Aberdeen area – granites, younger basics, migmatite, breccia, Dalradian
Monday 17: half-day – Ballater to Braemar – Grampian Group Dalradian, granites, skarns, glacial scenery. Return to Glasgow after lunch (100 miles, 2.5 hours)
Exposures are fairly easily accessible, with some longer flat walks and some ascents. Walking will be fairly easy on paths, but shore sections and grassy hill slopes could be wet and slippery. Good boots essential; and warm clothes, waterproofs etc., as usual. The two full days will be quite long, departing 9am, return 6pm. Packed lunches required on all days. We will probably need to rationalise car use on the Sat/Sun. Our leader will provide grid refs for each day in case people are travelling from different places, and will have notes and maps. Basically, though, the excursions are from the Aberdeen guide (Trewin, Kneller, Gillen, 1987) – now out of print but available online via the Aberdeen Geological Society. However, we hope to have copies of the relevant excursions.
Accommodation will be in B & B and travel in shared cars.
For more details please email the Residential Excursions Secretary, Maggie Donnelly, at restrips@gsocg.org.

More information about the Highland Boundary Fault at Stonehaven can be found here.

Bathgate Hills
2018-09-08 09:00 - 18:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Con Gillen
We will start at Beecraigs visitor centre to see a dyke and Carboniferous Limestone. Next is Cairnpapple Hill and the Knock (lavas, sill, limestone and mineralization) via Witch Craig geology wall. Then on to Petershill Reserve (fossiliferous reef limestone). If there is time, we will also visit East Kirkton quarry to see oil shales and limestones (SSSI, no hammering or collecting). Return to Bathgate for toilets, then head home to Glasgow.
Leaflets: Petershill, Witchcraig Wall, East Kirkton, from EGS website
£20 deposit. This is set at a level to recover the anticipated costs of the trip. A small financial adjustment may be made on the bus on the day of the trip.
Leaving Gregory Building at 9:00, returning at 18:00, travelling by coach

Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
2018-08-22 10:00 - 16:00 | Scotland
Leader: Derek Fabel

Choice of 10:00 am or 2:00 pm visits

On 9th March 2017, we had a very interesting lecture from Derek Fabel about how his laboratory undertakes precise and accurate measurement of isotopes in minerals and rocks. The procedures used to isolate and analyse isotopes involve isotope ratio mass spectrometry in a variety of forms depending on the isotopic system being utilised. Radiocarbon and surface exposure dating rely on being able to measure the abundance of extremely rare radioisotopes in the sample material using a technique called accelerator mass spectrometry. This tour of the laboratory will take you behind the scenes of extremely rare isotope metrology at SUERC to illustrate the complexity and effort involved in making these types of measurements.

Each tour will last for approximately 1.5 hours. There is room for a maximum of 10 people per tour; please advise if you would prefer to be on the 10am or 2pm visit.

No charge
Meet outside the SUERC at 09:45 for the 10:00 start or at 13.45 for the 14:00 start (own transport).
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC)
Rankine Avenue
Scottish Enterprise Technology Park
East Kilbride
G75 0QF.

Spireslack Quarry
2018-08-18 09:00 - 19:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Graham Leslie

The opencast coal site at Spireslack in East Ayrshire delivers a unique and stunning geological exposure.

The late 18th to mid-20th century industrial prosperity of Scotland and its urban development depended upon the extensive deposits of approximately 325 million year old Carboniferous coal, ironstone and oil shale. This site could be retained for a wide range of uses and re-developed during restoration to provide a rich visitor and/or learning experience of coal geology, the coal industry and a former way of life for previous generations of Scots. Imaginatively and constructively restored, Spireslack could deliver a unique, natural rock laboratory for industry and university training and research. BGS is working closely with the Scottish Mines Restoration Trust to find ways of doing so.

£20 deposit. This is set at a level to recover the anticipated costs of the trip. A small financial adjustment may be made on the bus on the day of the trip.
Leaving Gregory Building at 9:00, returning at 19:00, travelling by coach

Unearthing the rocks
2018-07-21 09:00 - 2018-07-25 17:00 | Scotland
Why not escape to Arran this summer & learn about its fascinating geology?
This geology course gives you the chance to do just that. Suitable for beginners or those who understand a little but would like to know a lot more.
6 nights full board accommodation in twin or single rooms.
Transport provided.
5 days of guided walks.
Geology which does not cost the earth.
£399.00
www.lochranzacentre.co.uk
info@lochranzacentre.co.uk
Tel: 01770 830 637

Perth & environs
2018-06-30 09:00 - 19:00 | Scotland
Joint excursion with the Edinburgh Geological Society

Leader: Dr Con Gillen

We will examine Devonian volcanic and sedimentary rocks (perhaps including the source of the Stone of Destiny) and look at a variety of building stones in Perth City. We start with a walk up to Kinnoull Hill on a waymarked footpath. Then on to Quarrymill woodland park, with a flat walk of approximately 1 km. Then down to the River Tay at Scone for a river walk of 2.5 km on a flat path. Then Perth city centre for about 2 km on pavements from St John’s Kirk to Smeaton Bridge-Queen’s Bridge.

This will be followed by a high tea at a venue still to be decided.

This excursion is now fully booked.

£30 deposit. This is set at a level to recover the anticipated costs of the trip and also the cost of the high tea. A small financial adjustment may be made on the bus on the day of the trip.
Leaving Gregory Building at 9:00, returning at 19:00, travelling by coach

Glen Lednock
2018-06-09 09:00 - 18:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Simon Cuthbert

Last year we visited Comrie and the De’il’s Cauldron waterfall where the River Lednock has incised a rock-cut gorge. We will continue our exploration of Glen Lednock and will visit the the Comrie pluton to examine the igneous rocks themselves and their contact relations with the country rocks. Comrie has some excellent opportunities for cake, and if we are not too long delayed on the rocks we may wish to explore these too! The trip will involve a few kilometres of variably rough and boggy walking, sometimes quite steep for short intervals.

£20 deposit. This is set at a level to recover the anticipated costs of the trip. A small financial adjustment may be made on the bus on the day of the trip.
Leaving Gregory Building at 9:00, returning at 18:00, travelling by coach

Muirshiel Country Park
2018-06-02 09:00 - 16:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Iain Allison

The society is working with the Scottish Geodiversity Forum to get the geology of Muirshiel Country Park more widely recognised. On this excursion we will be looking at several sites around the park, including the area around the now disused barite mine, and considering aspects of our industrial geological heritage.

£20 deposit. This is set at a level to recover the anticipated costs of the trip. A small financial adjustment may be made on the bus on the day of the trip.
Leaving Gregory Building at 9:00, returning at 18:00, travelling by coach

Members' Night
2018-05-10 19:30 - 21:30 | Scotland
The last evening meeting of the session consists of a series of short oral presentations by society members, followed by desktop presentations, nibbles and drinks.
The oral presentations will be as follows:
Margaret Greene – Shaping the Landscape Exhibition at New Lanark
Allan Jack – Jabal Sayid copper mine, Saudi Arabia
David Degan – Rock comparison on Earth, Moon and Mars (including a rock display)
David Webster and students – Glasgow University Remote Island Expedition to Islay
Each talk, including questions, will last for a maximum of 15 minutes.
Any display material, including laptop slideshows and posters, that members would like to bring to contribute to the desktop presentations will be very welcome.
This meeting will be held in the Alexander Stone Building (Lecture Theatre, Room 208) in University Gardens and not in the Gregory Building. The Alexander Stone Building is diagonally across University Gardens from the Gregory Building, just beyond the Queen Margaret Union, and is about 100 m from the Gregory Building.

Raasay, Inner Hebrides
2018-04-27 12:00 - 2018-04-30 12:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Brian Bell
Field days: Friday(afternoon)/Saturday/Sunday/Monday(morning)
The island of Raasay comprises a wide range of well-exposed rocks within the Hebridean Terrane, ranging from Archaean gneisses of the Lewisian Complex and the unconformably overlying Proterozoic clastic sedimentary rocks of the so-called Torridonian Supergroup, through to glacial deposits of the Pleistocene epoch. Mesozoic strata include various continental clastic sedimentary rocks, overlain by marine and estuarine deposits of the Lower and Middle Jurassic Period, including the Raasay Ironstone Formation. Palaeogene igneous activity resulted in both intrusive and extrusive units – lavas and granite. Pleistocene glacial activity produced diamictites and erratics, and striae on the harder rocks, while active landslips occur in the south-east of the island. This excursion aims to examine the entire range of rocks, and the industrial archaeology of the Raasay ironstone mine will also be addressed.
This trip is now fully booked. However, there is a waiting list. If you are interested please contact the Residential Excursions Secretary, Maggie Donnelly, at restrips@gsocg.org.

Establishing the glacial record of the Port Askaig Tillite Formation (Cryogenian) in Argyll (lecture)
2018-04-12 19:30 - 21:30 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Dr Tony Spencer
The Port Askaig Formation (PAF) in the Garvellach Islands and Islay is ~1100 m thick and includes 47 diamictite beds, interbedded with siltstones, dolostones and sandstones. The succession in the PAF records a total of 76 climatically-related stratigraphic episodes: 28 glacial, 25 periglacial and 23 non-glacial episodes. The PAF occurs in a Dalradian succession that is many kilometres thick, as newly revealed by sea-floor mapping around the Garvellachs. Compared with other Cryogenian glacial successions around the World, the PAF is exceptional in its combination of formation thickness, the number of climatically-related stratigraphic episodes, and the considerable thickness of its host supergroup. These indicators of relative stratigraphic completeness suggest that the base of the PAF in the Garvellachs is a succession without a major break, supporting it as a candidate section for the base of the Cryogenian System (GSSP).
Study of the ‘PAF’ has a long history which started with MacCulloch (1819). It was the first Neoproterozoic glacial deposit to be identified (Thomson 1871) and the wonderful outcrops in the Garvellachs were first ‘discovered’ by Pitcher and Shackleton (1961), leading to my Memoir in 1971. Now a large team is working to prepare a new Memoir for 2021.
Further reading: SPENCER, A.M. (1971): Late Precambrian Glaciation in Scotland. Geological Society, London, Memoir 6, pp. 5-102.
Tony has been a practising professional geologist since completing his PhD at Liverpool University in 1966 on the Port Askaig Tillite Formation in the Garvellachs and Islay. Whilst employed at the Geological Society of London researching Mesozoic-Cenozoic orogenic belts, he was the author of the 1971 GSL Memoir number 6 – an exhaustive treatise on the Port Askaig Tillite, which today remains the key reference for the stratigraphy of that area; and he also published another definitive paper on the stromatolitic carbonates of the overlying Bonahaven Formation.

A long and distinguished career in the oil industry then followed, first with BP and latterly with Statoil in Norway, where he published and edited a large number of key papers, books and memoirs on the petroleum geology of the Arctic regions, the NW European continental margin and the North Sea. Throughout his career in the oil industry he maintained his interest in the Precambrian glacial story and published a paper on NE Greenland.
He retired from Statoil in 2012 after a career in petroleum exploration spanning 41 years and rather than just relaxing and enjoying retired life in Norway; he has turned back to his first love, the Port Askaig Formation. He spends a lot of his retirement in a remote and primitive bothy on the Garvellachs and is in the process of authoring several key papers on the area including a proposal for a ‘Golden Spike’ on the Garvellachs to mark the worldwide base of the Cryogenian Period of the late Precambrian – which if accepted would be only the second such ‘spike’ in Scotland (after Dob’s Linn).
Before the lecture, Dr Spencer will be presented with the T. Neville George Medal for services to stratigraphy in recognition of his work on Precambrian glaciations, in particular his work on the Port Askaig Tillite on Islay and the Garvellachs.

Re-animating the chemistry of Precambrian oceans: new perspectives on the environmental backdrop to early life (lecture)
2018-03-08 19:30 - 21:30 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Dr Nick Tosca, Oxford University
The Precambrian era, representing ~90% of Earth’s history, witnessed some of the most critical biological milestones in the history of life. From the origin and evolution of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, to the advent of multicellular and complex animals, these transitions each irreversibly altered the course of biological evolution. But what role did the environment play in ushering in biological innovation? Answering this question requires that we understand how the details of climate and marine chemistry are written in the sedimentary rock record. We have used experimental, theoretical, and analytical approaches to unravel chemical and mineralogical clues in Precambrian rocks that, in turn, lend special insight into the chemical dynamics of Precambrian seas. We are discovering how chemical element cycles such as Fe, Si, and C were connected to one another, and how oceanography exerted a strong control on the availability of key nutrients in Precambrian seawater. Together, these results are painting a new detailed picture of the physical and chemical structure of Earth’s most ancient oceans and how they set the environmental stage for the evolution of ancient microbial life.
Nick is a Fellow and Tutor in Earth Sciences at St Peter’s College, Oxford and an Associate Professor in Sedimentary Geology. He has been a Fellow of St Peter’s since 2014, appointed after a Lectureship in Earth Sciences at the University of St Andrews, and Postdoctoral Research Fellowships at Churchill College, Cambridge, and Harvard University. His research is focused on how Earth’s climate has evolved through its early history and how this impacted biological evolution.

Cracked and full of sand: insights into the development of fractured basement reservoirs west of Shetland (lecture)
2018-02-21 19:30 - 21:30 | Grant Institute, King’s Buildings, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE, United Kingdom
Professor Bob Holdsworth, Durham University/Geospatial Research (Joint Celebrity Lecture with Edinburgh Geological Society, to be held in Edinburgh)
The fractured Precambrian gneisses of the 200km long Rona Ridge form the SE margin of the Faroe-Shetland Basin (FSB). Uplifted during Cretaceous-age normal faulting, it is flanked and immediately overlain by Devonian to Cretaceous cover sequences. Basement-hosted oil is known to occur in substantial volumes in at least two fields (Clair, Lancaster). Re-Os dating of bitumen and new U-Pb dating of calcite fills suggests that mineralization and oil charge occurred over a period of 20-30 Ma during the Upper Cretaceous.
A new study of basement cores was carried out to assess the mechanisms and timing of oil charge and other fracture-hosted mineralization. Oil charge is everywhere associated with quartz-adularia-calcite-pyrite mineralization and is hosted in meshes of interconnected shear/tensile fractures that formed during a single protracted, episode of brittle deformation. This association is recognized in all basement cores containing oil and also in locally overlying well-cemented Devonian and Upper Jurassic clastic sequences (Figs 1a-f).
Mineralization and oil charge is everywhere associated with clastic sedimentary material which occurs either as vein-hosted injected slurries or as laminated infills in mm to dm-scale open fractures. The latter preserve delicate way-up criteria and geopetal structures. The largest accumulations of oil are found either in the poorly-cemented sedimentary infills or in fracture-hosted vuggy cavities up to (at least) several cm across. All these features, together with the widespread development of zoned mineral cements and cockade textures suggest a near surface (<1-2km depth) low-temperature hydrothermal system. Highly dilated, open fractures developed in strong basement and overlying well cemented sedimentary rocks and were able to act as long-lived fluid channel-ways. There is no evidence for reactivation. Oil saturation likely periodically shut down fracture cementation.
The widespread preservation of dilational pull-apart features, together with the development of injected sediment-mineral slurries, and possible silica gels along faults, suggests that Upper Cretaceous seismogenic faulting drove fluid flow through the basement fracture systems. This may have also helped to drive oil migration from the Jurassic source rocks located to the west in the FSB, through the basement ridge and up into the overlying cover sequences. The significance of these findings for fractured basement reservoirs worldwide will be discussed.

From Mid Argyll to Mull: the sea bed geology of the Firth of Lorne (lecture)
2018-02-08 19:30 - 21:30 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Dr Roger Anderton
The geology of the sea bed between Mull, Lorne and Mid Argyll has been interpreted using a new high-resolution bathymetric survey produced by SAMS (Scottish Association for Marine Science). Bedrock ridges are visible over much of the area because of the erosive action of fast tidal currents, although care has to be taken with their interpretation as glacial erosion can produce misleading structural features. As one might expect, the rock units seen on the adjacent mainland and islands are present offshore. Dalradian rocks of the Appin and Argyll Groups underlie the whole area. In the south the distribution of Dalradian formations seen onshore can be inferred, whilst in the north tighter folds and more homogeneous lithologies make interpretation much more ambiguous. Overlying the Dalradian are two areas of ORS (Old Red Sandstone); a small one SW of Kerrera which is an outlier of the Lorne Basin and a large one which underlies much of the western Firth. The latter shows a complex internal stratigraphy which is up to 1.5 km thick and probably forms a half-graben bounded by the Great Glen Fault. The Triassic/Jurassic rocks of Mull extend only a short distance offshore where they unconformably overlie the ORS, the SE coastline of Mull being approximately defined by the base of the Tertiary lava pile. In detail, the sea bed geomorphology of the area is very complex being influenced by the distribution of the bedrock units, faults, fracture systems, Tertiary and other dykes as well as by Quaternary erosional and depositional processes.
Roger has worked extensively on the sedimentology and tectonics of the Dalradian following his Ph.D. on the Dalradian of Islay, Jura and mid-Argyll. He now lives near Lochgilphead following a career at the British Geological Survey, Strathclyde University and in the oil industry with BP. He is a member of the Geological Society of Glasgow.

Ice Age mammoth - object in focus (talk)
2018-01-23 14:00 - 14:15 | Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Argyle Street, Glasgow, Scotland, G3 8AG, United Kingdom
Ann Ainsworth, Glasgow Museums’ Curator of Geology, will explain how the Ice Age woolly mammoth survived life in the cold. More information about the talk can be found here.
This event is part of a series of 10 minute Object in Focus talks being held in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Details of all the talks can be found here.

Venus - dark secrets behind the veil (lecture)
2018-01-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Dr Simon Cuthbert, University of the West of Scotland
Venus, the familiar bright jewel of the morning and evening skies and our nearest planetary neighbour, should be the most Earth-like of the other terrestrial planets, but how much like our own world is it in reality? This presentation explores the current state of knowledge and will, indeed, reveal many familiar features. However, there is much about Venus that is very strange and decidedly hostile. Venus’s brilliant white veil hides a bizarre, scorched volcanic landscape. Its dense, roasting atmosphere makes exploration much more difficult than on other planets, so mysteries abound: Does (or did) plate tectonics operate on Venus? What happened to all the water? Why are there metal-coated mountain-tops? Was Venus ever really Earth-like, and could humans ever visit, or even live there? We’ll take a peek under the veil and glimpse the real face of Venus.
Simon is a geoscientist with over 30 years of academic and industrial experience. His research interests include precious metals exploration; characterisation of industrial wastes; water quality in mining, oil and gas extraction; mineral carbon capture systems; intramontane sedimentary basin evolution in the north Atlantic region, and tectonic processes in Himalaya-style mountain-belts. His teaching includes Earth systems science, water quality, Earth resources, environmental technologies, geographical information systems and forensic science. External activities include promotion and protection of geodiversity in Scotland, and public communication of the geological and environmental sciences. He is a member of the Council of the Geological Society of Glasgow and was Hon. Secretary until December 2016.

Palaeoproterozoic terrane accretion on the Celtic fringe of the Nuna (Columbia) supercontinent (lecture)
2017-12-14 19:30 - 21:30 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Professor Stephen Daly, University College Dublin
The Lewisian Complex, generally regarded as a distal outpost of the North Atlantic Craton, is made up predominantly of Neoarchaean terranes welded by Palaeoproterozoic mobile zones, potentially providing piercing points for reconstructions of the Nuna (Columbia) supercontinent. This talk will discuss new results from onshore and offshore outcrops in SW Scotland, NW Ireland and Rockall that shed light on terrane accretion on the southern margin of Nuna. These new data highlight the likelihood that the Nuna margin extended farther south than previously recognised. Its “southern” boundary may be marked by Palaeoproterozoic orthogneisses on Rockall Bank and the Annagh Gneiss Complex in western Ireland. On a broader scale, continental magmatism on the Celtic fringe of Nuna may correlate with the Transcandinavian Igneous Belt.
Stephen joined University College Dublin in 1981 and has been a Senior Lecturer since 1998 and Associate Professor of Petrology since 2006. He was Head of School from September 2011 to September 2015 and was appointed Head of Subject (Geology) in November 2015. He is Director of the National Centre for Isotope Geochemistry at UCD and served as an Advisory Editor of the Journal of the Geological Society, London until December 2016. He leads the UCD Geochronology, Petrology and Isotope Geochemistry research group.His research interests include the origin and tectonic history of the lower crust, geochemical aspects of geothermal energy and the application of isotope geochemical methods to sedimentary provenance, granite petrogenesis, ore genesis and mantle evolution. Geology aside he likes food, theatre, supporting Leinster and Irish rugby and staying out of the rain.
The lecture will be preceded by the society’s AGM and followed by the traditional Christmas social, with nibbles and drinks.

Fossil fish - object in focus (talk)
2017-11-28 14:00 - 14:15 | Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Argyle Street, Glasgow, Scotland, G3 8AG, United Kingdom
Join Ann Ainsworth, Glasgow Museums’ Curator of Geology, to take a closer look at some of the fossil fish found in Scotland. More information about the talk can be found here.
This event is part of a series of 10 minute Object in Focus talks being held in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Details of all the talks can be found here.

Scotland's Geodiversity Charter Launch and Conference
2017-11-16 10:00 - 16:30 | Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS, United Kingdom
Scotland’s Geodiversity Charter was launched in June 2012 and attracted the support of 61 signatory organisations. Various initiatives have helped to take forward the vision of the Charter: that Scotland’s geodiversity is recognised as an integral and vital part of our environment, economy, heritage and future sustainable development, to be managed appropriately and safeguarded for this and future generations. The Scottish Geodiversity Forum has worked with partners to revise and update the Charter during 2017, ready for the launch of the renewed Charter at this conference.
Details of the conference, including booking information, can be found here.

Soil in criminal investigations: investigation and evaluation in current and cold cases (lecture)
2017-11-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Professor Lorna Dawson, Head of Forensic Soil Science, The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen
Forensic soil science is an increasingly important discipline involving soils, minerals, dusts, plants and rock fragments to determine provenance i.e. to provide a chronology of their ownership, custody or location. Soil materials have been used as forensic trace evidence for many years, and are often highly distinctive from one region to another [1]. Such traces are extremely useful in a forensic context, because of their environmental specificity; their high levels of transferability; their ability to persist on items such as clothing, footwear, tools and vehicles; and their high levels of preservation after long periods of time. This resilience makes soil trace materials, frequently present at crime scenes and forensic exhibits, highly valuable forms of intelligence and evidence that can aid crime investigations and reconstructions. Significant advances in forensic geoscience over the past decade, in the development of analytical approaches, miniaturisation and also in understanding the behaviour, transfer, persistence and preservation of sediments, soils and plant material have widened their applicability. Evidence samples can be analysed using a wide range of complementary methods that address their physical, chemical and biological components with greater precision, speed and accuracy than ever before. This now permits samples of less than 10 milligrams to be accurately characterised, and permits forensic soil science to also contribute to cold case investigations, both in providing intelligence and evidence in court. Examples will be presented of case work where soil has played a pivotal role.
Sediments/soil on footwear and vehicles can indicate where a crime may have taken place, and may provide evidence of a person being at a particular place of interest. Improved analytical capabilities, coupled with the development and availability of relevant databases, allow forensic geoscientists to help police to search for unknown objects or people, prioritise areas for investigation or search, and provide robust and reliable evidence in court. Forensic geoscience has mainly been used in the past in the context of high-impact crimes such as murder, rape, aggravated burglary and terrorism investigations, where resources allow it. However, techniques are becoming cheaper and faster, and have the potential to become regularly used. With developments in analytical technology, and an increasing understanding of how soils and sediments are distributed within natural and anthropogenic environments, forensic soil science has more power to answer questions such as: “Where did the soil material come from?”, or “Where has this item been?”. Understanding the context of a specific case is crucial to help answer such questions. In addition, being able to explain the significance of the evidence that has been analysed, and demonstrating logically and transparently how a conclusion has been reached, remains important for forensic soil science specifically and trace evidence generally.
[1] Dawson, L.A., Mayes, R.W., 2015. Criminal and Environmental Soil Forensics. In: Murphy, B.L., Morrison, R.D. (Eds.), Introduction to Environmental Forensics, pp. 457–486.
Lorna graduated in Geography from the University of Edinburgh and obtained a PhD from the University of Aberdeen in Soil Science in 1984. This was followed by a post at the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research where she specialised in soil-plant microbial interactions. She is a visiting professor at Robert Gordon University, a Chartered Scientist and a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
She is a member of the European Network of Forensic Institutes, Working Group on Animals, Plants and Soil Traces (ENFS-WGAPST) and an advisor for European Union Chemical, Biological, Radio Nuclear, Generic Integrated Forensic Toolbox (CBRN GIFT). She has diplomas in civil and criminal law and is a fully trained court expert witness, regularly attending courts as an expert witness. She is a registered Expert with the UK National Crime Agency.
She currently sits on the British Association of Science General Committee and was recently engaged on a sabbatical working for the BBC, advising on programmes such as ‘Countryfile’, ‘Vera’ and ‘Silent Witness’ She has contributed to several books by leading UK authors such as Lin Anderson, Ann Cleeves, Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, & Stuart MacBride.

Clyde and Avon Valley Geology Exhibition meeting
2017-11-08 18:00 - 19:30 | Image Gallery
Members of the public are invited to join a meeting on Wednesday 8 November, 6-7:30pm, in New Lanark, to find out more about the forthcoming Clyde and Avon Valley Geology Exhibition.
The exhibition is due to open in New Lanark World Heritage Site in December 2017, and will explore how unique geology of the local area, stretching from the Avon Gorge at Chatelherault Country Park in the north, to the Falls of Clyde at New Lanark in the south, has influenced and shaped the lives of people living here – and continues to do so.
Multimedia and interactive exhibits will explore the 400 million years of the Clyde and Avon Valley’s geological story, from Devonian times to the present day. In particular, it will investigate how the retreating glaciers and the changing rivers sculpted the landscape of the Clyde and Avon Valley that we see today. Visitors will be able to find out about the ancient coal swamps, vast ice sheets and powerful rivers that have shaped the land and the people that lived there throughout history.
Research into themes, and both the major and lesser-known geological sites of the region, has been aided by a stakeholders group that includes representatives from the Falls of Clyde Group, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Hamilton Natural History Society.
As well as providing a chance for members of the public to find out more about the sites and themes of the exhibition, the public meeting will also be an opportunity for people to share stories or images connected to the geology of the landscape, for example, from people who worked in the mines, quarries or farms.
Admission is free. More details can be found here, and places can be booked here.
The venue is:

The Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership
Rosedale Street
New Lanark
ML11 9DJ

Tour of Snowball Earth - Islay
2017-10-21 09:00 - 2017-10-22 17:00 | Scotland
This two day excursion will be led by society member David Webster. The planned itinerary is as follows.
Day 1. A guided tour of two key localities (Beannan Dubh near Ballygrant and Fionn Phort near Port Askaig) illustrating the 650 million year old glaciation that probably covered the whole world at that time (“Snowball Earth”). The aim is to demonstrate the transition into the snowball event (Lossit Limestone) and review the sedimentology of the glacial deposits (Port Askaig Tillite).
Day 2. A full day visit to the remote north coast of Islay to view the classic stromatolite bioherms in the Bonahaven Dolomite plus some spectacular igneous intrusions and glacial features. A less strenuous alternative to Caol Isla and Bunnahabhain will be offered if group fitness & weather dictate. It may be possible to charter a local boat to return walkers from Rhuval lighthouse. This would save the 2-hour return walk but will be chargeable at cost and is dependent on weather, tide and boatman availability.
This event is part of Scotland’s first national Geoheritage Festival, which runs from 1-31 October 2017. The full programme for the festival can be found here.

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Disputed earth: geology and the Western Front, 1914-918 (lecture)
2017-10-12 19:30 - 21:30 | Lecture Theatre, Gregory Building, c/o School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Professor Peter Doyle
Perceived as a static war, the Great War was a conflict of parallel trench lines facing one another across a piece of disputed earth known to all as ‘No Man’s Land’. The trench war commenced in earnest late on in 1914, and continued almost unbroken until the spring of 1918. While trenches were nothing new, a centuries-old technique of siege, the descent into trench warfare was unexpected.
If the trenches of 1914 were intended to do little more than hold the invader, they soon became an over-riding obsession. Siege conditions developed that were difficult to break by the power of an infantry assault, and new and ever-more ingenious means of breaking the lines were planned and developed – some derived from ancient techniques, others more inventive. With military engineers pitted against artillerymen, trenches and artillery pieces became ever more sophisticated. Science had its role to play in this siege war – as it had for centuries – and it was true that the most successful military commanders had the most sophisticated understanding of terrain.
As the trench lines snaked across Europe they cut through varied terrain. Every aspect of the ground conditions had a material effect on the war, from the health and well being of the men, the ability of the trenches to protect their occupants and stop attacks, and the capability of the trenches to aid in the assault. With the enduring imagery of the war presenting men mired in seemingly bottomless mud, facing hills, ridges and high ground to be taken at all cost, the significance of geology to its outcome was stark.
To assist in this war, military engineers enlisted geologists, who helped drain the trenches, map out and combat the diversity of unsuitable ground, design and build dug-outs and pill-boxes, supply water and other resources and improve the lot of the frontline soldier. Not surprisingly, geology had a significant role in this defensive war; but arguably it had an even greater one in planning the offence, influencing the effects of artillery fire, naturally, but also in providing a means of undermining the enemy, of controlling the flow of poisonous gas, or in permitting the use of tanks.
This talk examines the significance of geology to, and the role of geologists in, the Great War. Using examples from the lecturer’s new book Disputed Earth (Uniform Press, 2017) it takes examples of the significance of the science to the outcome of the war in the British sector in Flanders and northern France.
Peter is a geologist and military historian whospecialises in the understanding of military terrain, with reference to the two world wars. Based at London SouthBank University, he is also an author specialising in the British experience of war, and the material culture of war. A member of the British Commission of Military History, and secretary of the Parliamentary All Party War Heritage Group, he is the author of many works of military history and the material culture of warfare. A regular keynote speaker, he is an occasional visiting lecturer at the US Military Academy, West Point (2007, 2014).

Linn Park - Glasgow's mini Grand Canyon?
2017-10-08 14:30 - 15:30 | Linn Park, Glasgow, G44 5TA, United Kingdom
Linn Park is one of Glasgow’s hidden gems – a deep rocky gorge and an impressive waterfall tucked away in the busy southside suburbs. The rocks tell a story of Glasgow’s long distant past, many millions of years ago, when volcanoes and tropical coal-swamps dominated the landscape. The gorge was carved through the tough rocks by the White Cart river (merely thousands of years ago!) when it was swollen by melt water from the Ice Age glaciers. Water and coal have since powered Glasgow’s industrial revolution and if you look carefully you can still find traces of it in the woods and river banks, slowly being reclaimed by Nature.
Society member Simon Cuthbert will lead a short, easy walk along the White Cart Water to explore Linn Park’s geology, landscape and industrial past. The walk will take about an hour. Everybody is welcome – you don’t need any previous experience of geology.
This event is part of Scotland’s first national Geoheritage Festival, which runs from 1-31 October 2017. The full programme for the festival can be found here.

Fossil Grove guided tours
2017-10-08 13:00 - 16:00 | Fossil Grove, 51 Victorial Park Drive South, Glasgow, G14 9QR, United Kingdom
The Fossil Grove is located within Victoria Park, Glasgow, Scotland. It was discovered in 1887 and contains the fossilised stumps of eleven extinct Lepidodendron trees. Regular guided tours of the Fossil Grove and surrounding quarry area led by society members Margaret Greene and David Webster and lasting about 45 minutes will take place on the hour at 1, 2 and 3 pm.
This event is part of Scotland’s first national Geoheritage Festival, which runs from 1-31 October 2017. The full programme for the festival can be found here. More information about Fossil Grove can be found by following the links here.

Geology walk in Rouken Glen Park
2017-10-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Scotland
A stroll round Rouken Glen Park led by John Faithfull, looking at the varied rocks formed in Carboniferous times. These rocks, and the fossils they contain, let us reconstruct changing environments 325 million years ago, and were also an important part of the industrial revolution in Glasgow during the 19th century.
This event is part of Scotland’s first national Geoheritage Festival, which runs from 1-31 October 2017. The full programme for the festival can be found here.
Meet at the entrance to the boating pond at Davieland Road.
